Winery For The Wise Ones!

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Paso Robles was named for its local oak trees, El Paso de Robles: The Pass of the Oaks. The name was shortened to Paso Robles when California gained its independence from Mexico in the mid 1800s.

Today, Paso Robles is home to more than 100 wineries and 26,000 vineyard acres focusing on premium wine production. The distinct micro-climates and diverse soils, combined with warm days and cool nights, make growing conditions ideal for producing more than 40 wine varieties from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, to Syrah, Viognier and Roussanne, to Zinfandel, the area’s heritage wine variety.
Early Years
Paso Robles has a rich history of winemaking and grape growing beginning in 1797 when the first wine grapes were introduced to Paso Robles by the Franciscan missionaries at the historic Mission San Miguel Arcangel, where Father Junipero Serra planted more than a thousand vines. The Padres produced wine for sacramental purposes and made brandy for export.
After Mexico secularized the California missions in the 1840s the vineyards were abandoned until European immigrant farmers started to arrive in the 1860s, following California’s independence in 1850. The first was a Frenchman, Pierre Hippolyte Dallidet, who purchased the mission’s suffering vines and started new ventures. More Europeans showed up in the 1870s starting with Englishman Henry Ditmas who started the area’s first vineyard importing Zinfandel and Muscat grapes from France and Spain for his 560 acre Rancho Saucelito.
1880s to 1920s
Commercial winemaking was introduced in 1882 when Indiana rancher Andrew York began planting vineyards on his 240-acre homestead. Within a few years, he found that the vines were yielding more than he could market, prompting him to establish Ascension Winery, known today as York Mountain Winery. The family planted some of the area’s earliest Zinfandel vines, making Paso Robles famous for this variety. York initially sold his wines mostly in San Luis Obispo and eventually as far away as San Francisco. Today, York Mountain Winery remains the oldest winery in continuous operation in the county.
Following York’s early success in the wine business, immigrant farming families settled in the area. In 1884 the Ernst family arrived from Geneseo, Illinois, and over the next 20 years planted 25 varieties of wine grapes made into wines receiving wide acclaim. In 1886, Gerd Klintworth planted a vineyard in the Geneseo/Linne area and produced the first white wine in the region. In 1890, Frenchman Adolf Siot planted Zinfandel west of Templeton. In the 1920’s, Italian families starting vineyards included Dusi, Martinelli, Vosti and Bianchi – many of which are still being farmed today by third and fourth generations of their families.
The Casteel vineyards in the Willow Creek area were planted just prior to 1908. Casteel wines were stored and aged in a cave cellar. Cuttings from the old vines provided the start for other vineyards still producing in the area today.
As the popularity of wines began to grow, so did the Paso Robles wine region. Lorenzo Nerelli purchased a vineyard at the foot of York Mountain in 1917. His Templeton Winery was the area’s first to be bonded following the repeal of Prohibition.